1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal including a flat panel display device and a method of fabricating a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal including a flat panel display device and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, as the International Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT 2000) service, which is referred to as a dream mobile communication or a terminus of wireless communication, is commercialized, the world has become a global community. The IMT 2000 service utilizes a low earth orbit satellite system. Thus, a high speed wireless communication with voice or images may be served using only a single mobile terminal that is not limited by domestic location or a foreign location, even when users are traveling by ground, sea or air. IMT 2000 may be classified as a third generation mobile communication, after analog mobile communication and personal communication service (PCS). The most important element of an IMT 2000 is a mobile terminal possessed by users. Accordingly, a mobile terminal having a portable size and sufficient user interfaces is required. At the same time, transmission and performance of audio/video (A/V) contents with high quality via a mobile terminal are required. As a result, a mobile terminal for a cellular phone, a notebook computer, a laptop computer or a personal digital assistant (PDA) is designed to have a larger display area even with a smaller size mobile terminal.
A liquid crystal display (LCD) device is widely used for displaying images in a mobile terminal because an LCD device has advantages in a contrast ratio and a color reproducibility over other flat panel displays (FPD). Currently, display quality of an LCD device is similar to that of a cathode ray tube (CRT) because of recent technological improvements.
In general, the LCD device uses an optical anisotropy and polarization properties of liquid crystal molecules to produce an image. Due to the optical anisotropy of the liquid crystal molecules, refraction of light incident onto the liquid crystal molecules depends upon the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules. The liquid crystal molecules have long thin shapes that can be aligned along specific directions. The alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules can be controlled by applying an electric field. Accordingly, the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules changes in accordance with the direction of the applied electric field. Thus, by properly controlling the electric field applied to a group of liquid crystal molecules within respective pixel regions, a desired image can be produced by appropriately refracting and transmitting the incident light.
There are several types of LCD devices, one of which is commonly referred to as active matrix LCD (AM-LCD) device. The AM-LCD device includes an array of pixels forming a matrix. Each of the pixels in the AM-LCD device includes a thin film transistor (TFT) and a pixel electrode. The AM-LCD devices are currently being developed because of their high resolution and superior quality for displaying moving pictures.
FIG. 1 illustrates a folder type mobile terminal including an LCD device according to the related art. In a folder type mobile terminal of FIG. 1, a larger display area is obtained with a smaller total size as compared with a mobile terminal in which a body unit having a key pad and a display unit having an LCD device are arranged in a single plane. The folder type mobile terminal includes a body unit 2 and a display unit 6 which are folded or unfolded using a hinge 10. The body unit 6 includes a control or input device 4 such as a key pad and the display unit 6 includes an LCD device 8. Accordingly, almost all of the area of the display unit 6, which is substantially the same as an area of the body unit 2, may be used for displaying images when the mobile terminal is unfolded. Thus, the mobile terminal has a portable size corresponding to the body unit 2 or the display unit 6 when the mobile terminal is folded.
In the mobile terminal, however, images are displayed by a single LCD device 8 having an area smaller than the display unit 6. Accordingly, a user's request for displaying high video contents is not satisfied. In addition, mobile terminals now often combine several functions. For example, a cellular phone may include a digital camera or a navigation system, and movies may be displayed by a cellular phone using a satellite. However, since only a single LCD device having a finite display area is used for displaying images, the full size of the display area is limited to the single LCD device.